Gender equality in the workplace

The purpose of the Act on Equality between Women and Men is to prevent gender-based discrimination and to promote equality between women and men and to improve the position of women, especially in working life. The purpose of the Act is also to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression. 

The Equality Act obliges every employer to promote gender equality in a targeted and systematic manner. 

According to the Act, the employer must, taking into account the available resources and other relevant factors, act in such a way that both women and men apply for open positions. The employer may encourage representatives of the underrepresented gender in the workplace to apply for the job in the job advertisement. It must be considered whether different job positions contain elements that prevent either gender from doing these jobs. 

The employer must promote the equal placement of women and men in different positions and create equal opportunities for career advancement and training for them. 

Equality between women and men must be promoted in pay and other working conditions. The employer has a duty to strive to ensure that employees can exercise their parenthood equally. This may sometimes require individual solutions, such as arranging special shifts for single parents or other working time arrangements. Both parents have the right to stay home to care for a sick child, and both parents have the right to take parental and care leave. Men in particular should be encouraged to take family leave. 

The employer must develop working conditions so that they are suitable for both women and men, and for example, social facilities must be available for both women and men, as necessary. Similarly, efforts can be made to develop different work areas, work methods and equipment so that they are suitable for people with different physical characteristics. 

The employer is obliged to prevent sexual and gender-based discrimination, and according to the law, the employer must use available measures to ensure that employees are not subjected to harassment. In addition, the law aims to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression. The workplace should draw up guidelines for dealing with harassment. 

The employer cannot avoid obligations to promote equality by invoking negative attitudes. For example, customer expectations or resistance from its own employees must not prevent equal treatment. 

Read more on the website of the Equality Ombudsman